1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure relates generally to user interaction with information presented on a display device, and in particular but not exclusively, relates to providing secure transactions via an interactive television “ticker.”
2. Description of the Related Art
An important business element in the production and distribution of television programming is revenue received from manufacturers and service providers who pay to advertise their products. The ubiquitous television commercial is the manifestation of this enterprise. The survival of a television program is heavily dependent on the advertising revenue that can be realized from the television program. Advertisers in turn rely on the ability of the television program to draw viewers who then become potential purchasers of the advertised products.
Television and Internet technologies are beginning to converge. In particular, access to the World Wide Web via an Internet-enabled television system is progressing and becoming more popular. In a typical scenario, a television commercial can be provided with a “trigger” that renders an icon on television display screen, signaling to the viewers that there is a potential e-commerce opportunity.
Viewers can then obtain information about goods and services that are advertised in the commercial by, for example, connecting to the Internet while viewing the commercial and ordering the advertised products. A user interface for this e-commerce transaction can comprise a hypertext markup language (HTML) web page or pop-up window that is rendered on the display screen as an overlay over the current television program or in full screen.
Unfortunately, these implementations are non-ideal for many viewers. For instance, the viewer can initiate an e-commerce transaction while its corresponding commercial is showing. However, if the viewer does not complete the transaction and close the e-commerce window by the time the commercial ends, then the viewer typically will have to finish the transaction while the television program resumes (or defer the remainder of the transaction until later or start over again at a later time). Keeping the e-commerce window rendered on the display screen is distracting and annoying to viewers (e.g., the viewer who initiated the transaction and other viewers in the room) who wish to enjoy uninterrupted viewing of the television program.
Moreover, since television commercials are directed/broadcasted towards a general viewing audience (as opposed to being provided through an Internet web site that a user has specifically accessed via a personal computer or PC), viewers do not always feel guaranteed that their transactions are secure. For instance, conventional web sites that are accessed via a PC often prompt a user for a password before providing account information and allowing the user to proceed further. Providing such security prompts in a full-screen transaction pop-up window lengthens the amount of time that the pop-up window is rendered on the television display screen—this lengthens, therefore, the time to complete the transaction, thereby increasing viewer distraction and annoyance when the regular programming resumes while the transaction is still being completed.
Thus, while television does provide new opportunities for commerce, it must be remembered that the primary purpose of television is to entertain or inform viewers through television programming. Implementing “banner ads” or pop-up advertisement windows (as is commonly done on the Internet) will annoy viewers who wish to enjoy uninterrupted television programming, rather than encourage them to initiate an e-commerce transaction, which may itself not always appear to be a secure transaction.